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Ukraine Claims Devastating Strikes; Rohingya Refugees Describes Ordeal At Sea; Global Football Legend Pele Laid To Rest In Brazil. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 04, 2023 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:37]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Hundreds dead or wounded Ukraine is claiming a pair of devastating strikes on Russian forces. The Kremlin now blaming its own troops. Plus.

Drifting at sea without food or water for a month. More than two dozen Rohingya refugees died on this boat. CNN talks to one survivor about the human tragedy that keeps repeating itself.

And no snow on the slopes. A rare winter heatwave in Europe is smashing all-time records.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: And thanks for joining us. Well, the New Year is off to a successful start for Ukraine's military which is claiming yet another major attack on Russian forces within its territory. The general staff of the Armed Forces says around 500 Russian troops were killed or wounded. This time in the town of Chulakivka in the Kherson region. Moscow has not publicly commented on the New Year's Eve attack.

But it comes as Russia is revising the death toll up to 89 in a separate attack on a barracks in the Donetsk region. Ukraine claims hundreds of Russian troops were killed. And Ukraine's military has shared video of what it says is a strike on an ammunition warehouse in the Luhansk region. The head of the regional military says they watched for weeks as the Russians brought in weapons and vehicles until "bam, there's no more enemy warehouse."

So, let's go live now to London and CNN's Clare Sebastian. Good morning to you, Clare. So, what more are you learning about Ukraine's claims of another 500 Russian troops killed or injured or New Year's Eve near Chulakivka?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. They say this is coming only from the Ukraine side. We don't have any official confirmation or comment from the Russian side as of yet. But this happened on New Year's Eve near an enemy equipment and troops stronghold near the town of Chulakivka which if we can pull up the map again is just across the Dnipro River from Kherson.

An area that is occupied currently by Russia where Russian troops actually sort of retreated and refortified after withdrawing from the city of Kherson in November. Russia, it should be noted, continues to repeatedly shell and bomb the city of Kherson. This may be a motive for Ukraine to try to target concentrations of troops and equipment in that region. The death toll that Ukraine is estimating around 500 appears to be approximate.

It might be difficult for them to verify that given that this is Russian-occupied territory. But if true, this would signal that Ukraine is clearly stepping up its efforts to target concentrations of troops, ammunition equipment, depots, things like that in an effort to weaken Russia as it brings more recruits to the frontline. And as those frontlines have remained pretty stagnant for several weeks.

CHURCH: And Clare, what about the Makiivka strike where Russia has now updated the death toll and blames the use of cell phones for that attack. What details do you have?

SEBASTIAN: Yes. Again, the death toll in this is sort of a moveable feast at the moment. Russia updated it overnight to 89 people. The Russian Ministry of Defense Ukraine says it's clarifying its original assertion that 400 Russian soldiers were killed and around 300 wounded. Difficult to verify and the rubble clearly still be being picked over in that region but recrimination certainly continue on the Russian side.

They are now saying that it was their own soldiers' mass use of cell phones which is banned that allowed Ukraine to target that position. They also it should be noted continue to emphasize that the strike was carried out by U.S.-made HIMARs rocket launches which of course fuels the narrative that Russia continues to put forward. They are not just fighting Ukraine but fighting the collective west as a whole.

And this of course, the bad backdrop in which efforts at diplomacy are going to be sort of stepped up today.

[02:05:06]

Turkey's President Erdogan is making another overture speaking to both President Putin and President Zelenskyy by phone. Today, it seems unlikely that any breakthroughs will be made, but certainly he is continuing with those talks.

CHURCH: All right. We'll see what comes of that. Clare Sebastian joining us live from London. Many thanks.

Back in the United States and on Capitol Hill, a growing feud within the Republican Party is threatening to overshadow its new majority in the House. On Tuesday, a band of conservative hardliners blocked Kevin McCarthy from securing the 218 votes needed to become Speaker of the House. And that's after three rounds of voting. It's the first time in 100 years the House has failed to elect a speaker on the first ballot, making this an historic humiliation for McCarthy.

During Tuesday's voting, McCarthy's opponents nominated Jim Jordan of Ohio to be Speaker of the House during the second and third ballot. But Jordan says he doesn't want the job and he's backing McCarthy. Meantime, McCarthy vows to keep fighting for the speaker role and has no plans to step aside.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Members are talking we're walking through. I think we'll find our way to get there. And this is a healthy debate. It might not happen on the day we want it but it's going to happen.

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CHURCH: The House will reconvene in the coming hours and continue voting until someone is elected speaker because until then, members of the 118th Congress can't be sworn in or conduct business. CNN's Manu Raju has more from Washington.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House is in a state of paralysis right now. That's because they are unable to elect a speaker. That is the first order of business in the new congress, the first order of business in 118th Congress. And after three ballots, Kevin McCarthy simply could not get there. It is the first time in American history in 100 years that an American speaker, a U.S. House Speaker could not be elected on the first ballot.

And how many bells will it take for Kevin McCarthy? Nobody knows. Can Kevin McCarthy get there? Also, uncertain. Will there be another candidate who emerges? Also, another major question. And this is not just a simple question about who may fill a key leadership position. This is someone who will drive the agenda of an institution of congress could help set the shape of policy, matters that could affect the lives of millions of Americans.

Also, someone who will drive the party strategy heading in the 2024 elections. All key questions unsettled because of this very chaotic fight between McCarthy allies who now number more than 200, but also a growing number of detractors. In McCarthy's math, he's the real problem here. Right now, the House Republicans and their new majority will occupy 222 seats. That means McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than four votes on the House floor.

Four Republican votes. He has lost 20 so far and McCarthy and those in the camp of 20 are pushing, pushing hard to grow their numbers. They believe they can get up to 20. 25 republicans to vote against him and ultimately forced McCarthy out of the race. Now McCarthy told me on Tuesday night, he is not going anywhere. He plans to dig in, force the opponents to essentially wear themselves out and essentially concede, give him the speakership.

He believes he's given them enough concessions, a lot of things they won, just to have more power in the incoming Republican Congress. That he says is plenty of concessions going forward. That's still not enough for some of these members. But there are also other issues that he simply can't resolve. Personality conflicts, some people who just simply just want him out of the race altogether and say that they will vote against him for however long it takes.

So, all this is happening as democrats on the other side are sitting back watching this happen, not planning at the moment to bail Kevin McCarthy out in any way as he struggles to try to finally claim the speakership and he's fought so hard to get, but he simply doesn't have the votes to get the gavel.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: It's now the third and final day of public viewing at the Vatican where Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lying in state. He died on New Year's Eve at the age of 95. The Vatican says thousands of people have filed past his body inside St. Peter's Basilica and paid their respects. The former pontiff's funeral will take place on Thursday with Pope Francis leading the mass.

Hundreds of thousands of people turned up for the public week for football legend Pele, including the presidents of Brazil and FIFA. So many people wanted to pay their respects that thousands waiting in line at the stadium were not able to get in. Pele's casket was then carried through the streets of Santos and Sao Paulo state where he rose to global fame. Stefano Pozzebon has the story.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For a man who was compared to God himself while still alive, the single day of mourning would have never been enough. Pele's final farewell to two days and so more than 200,000 people pay their respects. In the closing hours of the public wake, even the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to console the strawed widow.

Soon later, Pele's casket was carried in a funeral cortege around the city of Santos. For those old enough to have seen him play he had already reached immortality.

Nothing you will write will ever match the greatness of Pele, our king. This is the funeral of a man. But the king will always be here.

On the streets where his casket will let him pass, the crowds are dressed different gods, some the Holy Father, other's Pele himself, but everybody felt the passing history.

POZZEBON (on camera): The most emotional moment, however, was when Pale's casket carried by a fire truck just behind my back, arrived in front of the house where his mother still lives to this day. You can see the family going together, gathering on the rooftop of the house to say goodbye to a -- to a brother, to a son, to a father.

POZZEBON (voice over): Relatives and friends gathered on the terrace. Pele's own sister bidding him farewell. After a final prayer, the greatest football player of all time was finally laid to rest. In a private ceremony, only for the family and far away from the cameras. From now on, Pele will always be at a short distance from the football ground he graced with his magic. The banners with his name already taken from the stands. The king's memory forever in the heart of the city.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Santos, Brazil.

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CHURCH: The uncle of NFL player Damar Hamlin who collapsed during Monday Night Football says his nephew is sedated while in critical condition. We're told Hamlin is on a ventilator after suffering a cardiac arrest during the key showdown between his Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. Players from both teams were visibly emotional after Hamlin went down. His uncle tells CNN he had to be resuscitated more than once.

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DORRIAN GLENNN, DAMAR HAMLIN'S UNCLE: His heart had went out so they had to resuscitate him twice. They resuscitate him on the field before they brought him in the hospital, and then they resuscitated him on the second time when he got to the hospital.

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CHURCH: Hamlin's family issued this statement on Tuesday expressing their sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. They say we are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans around the country. The NFL says the critical Bills-Bengals game which was postponed after Hamlin's collapse will not be played this week.

And it's not clear if the game will even be played at all, despite having huge playoff implications. Meanwhile, Buffalo Bills players are praying for their teammate.

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DION DAWKINS, BUFFALO BILLS OFFENSSIVE TACKLE: The team is doing what we can, you know, it's a -- it's a lot of sad clouds and a lot of happy spirits, a lot of happy prayers, but we are all devastated.

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CHURCH: Meanwhile, all 32 teams in the NFL have changed their Twitter avatars to images of Hamlin's number three jersey with the message, pray for Damar.

And the famous Niagara Falls just north of Buffalo when lit up in blue in support of Hamlin. donations have been flooding into Hamlin's charity toy drive. This is footage from when he started the fundraiser in Pennsylvania two years ago, with a modest goal of raising $2,500 to help needy kids. Now barely a day after his collapse, the GoFundMe campaign has raised about $6 million from nearly 200,000 donors.

And still to come. A heartbreaking story of survival as a Rohingya refugee speaks to CNN about her month-long ordeal at sea with no food or water. We'll speak to a senior U.N. official about the plight of the Rohingya Muslims.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We're now hearing from one of the Rohingya Muslims who spent more than a month drifting at sea in a broken-down boat with no food, water or medicine. In all about 200 refugees fled their camps in Bangladesh in late November, in search of a better life. More than two dozen did not survive. CNN's Paula Hancocks has a report and a warning, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Despair and misery etched on every single face, one by one they collapse. Emaciated bodies clutching small children, others motionless, seemingly unconscious on an Indonesian beach. They are the Rohingya refugees left adrift on a boat on the open sea, forgotten and ignored. A human tragedy that keeps repeating itself.

Fahat Monesa (ph) and her five-year-old daughter Uma Salima (ph) were among the 174 to reach Aceh province after one month surviving on just three days supply of food and water. She has almost unrecognizable.

HANCOCKS (on camera): What happened when you got on the boat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEFMALE (through translator): She tells me there was no food, no medicine, no water for all of those days. Only when it rains could we drink rainwater.

HANCOCKS: A few days into the journey, she says the engine broke down. They were stranded in the Andaman Sea. Fahat Monesa remembers watching a baby girl die after drinking salt water. She says the boat driver jumped overboard in desperation from thirst and hunger and died leaving his desperate human cargo to drift helplessly hoping for rescue.

On December 18th, more than three weeks after setting sail, Fahat Monesa's brother back in Bangladesh managed to contact the boat trying to organize a rescue from a local boat in Indonesia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): We are dying here. We haven't eaten anything for eight to 10 days. We are starving. Three people have died.

HANCOCKS: Fahat Monesa says, I thought I would die. I thought I would die on that boat.

United Nations Refugee Agency says 26 people died before the boat was rescued by Indonesian fishermen and local authorities. The agency says several countries turned a blind eye.

BABAR BALOCH, ASIA PACIFIC SPOKESPERSON, UNHCR: We as UNHCR are reaching out from state to state in the region wherever we were getting reported this is either close to one country or another. No one acted on those requests and appeals.

HANCOCKS: Stateless and persecuted, these Rohingya refugees have known little peace having fled once for their lives five years ago in Myanmar after a brutal campaign of killing and arson by the military to Bangladesh and in a sprawling refugee camp Cox's Bazar with little hope of a life, just survival.

MUHAMMAD TAHER, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translator): In Bangladesh our life was difficult. We were banned from going out to look for work. The children could not go to school.

[02:20:03]

HANCOCKS: This year threatens to become one of the most deadly for the Rohingya in the Southeast Asian waters. UNHCR says at least three boats were rescued in December, one by the Sri Lankan Navy, two ended up in Indonesia. But one boat carrying 180 people have not been heard from since the beginning of December. Its passengers feared loss.

BALOCH: These are literally death traps, that once you get into those, you end up losing your life and this is done by the merciless human smugglers and traffickers who don't care about human lives.

HANCOCKS: Fahat Monesa, it cost around $1,000 for a false promise of a seven-day trip to Malaysia. A price so high she had to leave her seven-year-old daughter behind with her mother in Bangladesh, assuming she would join later.

They must bring my other daughter to me, she says. My heart is burning for her. All I ever wanted was to get an education for my children. She now faces the torment of living apart from one child while dealing with the trauma of another.

Paula Hancocks, CNN Seoul.

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CHURCH: Tom Andrews is the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar and he joins me now from Fairfax, Virginia. Thank you so much for being with us.

TOM ANDREWS, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR, MYANMAR: Rosemary, thank you for having me.

CHURCH: Now, we just saw Paula Hancock's report on the Rohingya refugees who survived a month in sea highlighting, of course, the desperation felt by many Rohingya that they would rather risk life and limb to find a better life than to stay in some of these places that they've been put. What is your reaction to that story? And of course, others like it? ANDREWS: Well, it's -- really, it's not surprising. Just think about this. People were ripped from their homes of 700,000 Rohingya being forced from their homes due to genocidal attacks, led by the very person who commands the military junta of Myanmar right now. Putting yourself in the -- in the largest refugee camp in the world nearly one million people. It mean, it's just in a horrible, horrible situation that people are facing.

And it's -- and it's the despair, you talk to people and the despair, the mental health strain of just from where they been to the crisis they're in right now. Security, lack of education, lack of opportunities for jobs and earning a basic living. But then the uncertainty about the future, when are they going to be able to go home? And of course, no one, no one can see that in the stores right now given conditions in Myanmar.

So, it's a very bleak, very desperate situation. And so, it's understandable that people would take desperate measures facing a very, very desperate, desperate situation.

CHURCH: And as you were speaking with us, we were taking images there, some aerial shots, as well as these that are going to air right now of the current situation for those million or so Rohingya refugees still living in camps at Cox's Bazar. Let's go a little deeper into what their day-to-day life is like there.

ANDREWS: Well, I was there about a year ago and I met with many people and one of the concerns and looking at reports since I returned, security safety is a -- is a very big concern. People are terrified of violence, of gang violence, of organized militia attacking human rights defenders and camp leaders. So, there's a -- there's a basic security question that people are facing and fear, daily fear.

But then there's the problem of education, you know, there are half of the people who are living, Rohingya living in those camps in Cox's Bazar are under 18 years of age. 100,000, more than 100,000 have no access to education whatsoever. And those that have education opportunities there, they're very low. So, you're in a situation in which you're fearful for the health and safety of yourself and your family.

Your children are not able to get perhaps any education whatsoever. And then the opportunity to earn a living, to develop a skill, to create some hope that you can provide for your family. Those are very, very limited indeed. So, all of these factors combined to a very, very desperate situation. And then of course, Rosemary, the problem of humanitarian aid, we've got an economic crisis worldwide. We've got other crises, as you well know around the world.

And so, the pressure on international support for places like Bangladesh which is not by the way, a country well-equipped to confront this kind of a crisis.

[02:25:00]

Support for Bangladesh, support humanitarian aid for those people living in these camps is limited and projections are not encouraging going forward.

CHURCH: So, Tom, talk to us about what the international community needs to be doing right now to help these Rohingya refugees who are facing such dire circumstances right now. It's so bleak.

ANDREWS: Well, you know, first and foremost, Rosemary, really, you have to start with where this all began and what's driving all this. And that's the crisis in Myanmar. You talk to just about anyone living in those camps in Bangladesh and they will tell you more than anything else, they want to go home, they were driven there because they were the victims of a genocide. They want to go home back to their villages and regain some kind of normalcy in their -- in their home village.

So, it's critically important that we do not lose sight of the source of this crisis. And ultimately, the solution to this crisis is not in Bangladesh, but it's in Myanmar. So, you just have a multitude of problems, one building on top of the other, each being driven by despair that people are feeling in their own personal lives. Lack of hope for where their future is heading. And all rooted in this great injustice of being the victims of a genocide in Myanmar and wanting desperately, desperately to one day go home.

CHURCH: Yes. Let's hope we see more support coming. Tom Andrews, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar. Thank you, as always for joining us. Appreciate it.

ANDREWS: Rosemary, thank you. Thanks for having me. Always a pleasure.

CHURCH: And still to come. Global economic concerns as the head of the IMF warns that a tough year lies ahead. The details next.

Plus, Beijing hits back at countries trying to restrict travel over its COVID surge. A live report from the Chinese capital when we return.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. We are just a few days into the New Year and already there's growing concern about the global economy and which countries might be hit by a recession.

In the U.S., Moody's Analytics is predicting a slow session that is when growth comes to a near stop. But a downturn is narrowly avoided. But their chief economist made clear the economy is set for a difficult 2023. Here's the IMF chief's assessment.

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[02:30:00]

KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND: For most of the world economy this is going to be a tough year -- tougher than the year we leave behind. Why? Because the three big economies, U.S., E.U., China, are all slowing down simultaneously.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: The IMF's Managing Director also says Europe has been hit hard

by the war in Ukraine with half of the European Union expected to be in recession. And China's economy was weakened dramatically last year, due to its strict zero-COVID policy. The deceleration there is expected to have a dire global impact.

Well, for more on all of this, we want to bring in Ryan Patel in Los Angeles. He is a senior fellow at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Good to have you with us.

RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: Thanks, Rosemary.

ROSEMARY: So, at the start of 2023, a warning from the head of the International Monetary Fund, that the Global Economy faces a tougher year ahead due to the U.S., Europe, and China experiencing slowing economies. And she said, one-third of the world's economy is expected to be in recession in 2023. So, how bad can we expect that recession to be, and which countries will be hit the hardest?

PATEL: Well, first, I want to -- want to start with a Happy New Year this way and talk about bad news. Let me tell you the good news first, and we'll get to the bad news. The good news is, she actually isn't IMF chief, isn't going out of a limb. It's not something new that we haven't seen. It's going to -- you know, one-third of the world economy is going to recession. It is a ripple effect. Right? It's an economic spillover, right, when you think of China and the U.S., you know, and the E.U., especially with the U.S. starting to recover and China starting to recover as well, there's going to be a lag effect in certain regions. So, I'm not saying that that's good news, but we understand that it's going to happen.

As for the bad news, there is this ripple effect, Rosemary, and you're going to see countries, like Sri Lanka, that we're seeing already facing, other places -- and maybe Indonesia and Southeast Asia, that was really dependent on China. You know, as they're just opening up, there is an effect, an impact when you're talking about exports, imports, especially in that region. They're going to see an impact behind that. And also, can't forget the interest rates and the rates of all these central banks going on. It takes time. So, there's going to be more pain with some of these other countries that haven't built the resources in facing that.

ROSEMARY: Yes, and terrifying for those countries, of course. And Ryan, China abruptly dumped out of its zero-COVID policy at the end of the year. And now, appears to be just trying to ignore the surging COVID cases. And instead of focusing on getting its economy back on track. What are the likely consequences of that approach? And what impact could it have globally?

PATEL: Well, that's a great question. I mean, you've seen each country having to handle this, right, differently, can't be the same. You see of China, you mentioned, you know, I kind of feel like it didn't really have much of a choice to -- but to open, not just from an internal pressure as we've seen, but also from an external pressure when you think of companies like Apple and Tesla, and their disruption in their hardware. And, you know, China's ability to import and export in other countries, they needed to also bring goods into the country, as well, and get that consumer spending, which is really key here for China, is to kind of implement and to get moving their middle class to start spending so that they can continue to get that growth back to where they wanted to see. As you know, they didn't hit their growth numbers by even a couple percentage, they were -- they were off by a lot. Going to this year, they need to kind of rebound to do that. They have to be open.

ROSEMARY: Right. And Ryan, in 2022, because we all experienced high inflation, interest rate hikes, and mounting recession fears. And now, the 2023 is here, what highs and lows can we expect in the first quarter? And when do you think we'll see a global economic recovery?

PATEL: Well, I -- you know, I don't -- I think the Fed is going to increase at the next meeting again, I think they're going to be -- continue to be aggressive, at least in that first meeting to see where we're at. You know, are we going to see, I believe, I hope, I guess, I (INAUDIBLE) By the middle -- by summer, we kind of have -- we go through the first two quarters of this painfulness, and hopefully, there's a soft landing, but you know your job growth is -- in the U.S. is going to have to slow down jobs, or that's what inflation is going up. And we're going to see that. I mean, that's -- there's that pain that's going to come, and I'm hoping that the recovery gets a little more quicker, that can occur. And we would hope, again, best case scenario, quarter three, quarter four that the global economy starts to come.

But, Rosemary, I just want to be very realistic to the audience. A lot of things, a lot of variables have to hit -- it's not impossible. There's a lot of opportunity at the same time. A lot of countries have built resiliency in it. There's going to be ways that, you know, have to be nimble across, you know, companies as well. And so, I think there's some good that comes out of this, but there's also a lot of challenges that we cannot ignore, and there's more to face.

ROSEMARY: All right, and we'll see what happens, Ryan Patel. Thank you so much appreciate it.

[02:35:00]

Well, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange, FTX pleaded not guilty to all charges in a U.S. Federal Court on Tuesday. Sam Bankman-Fried is facing multiple charges of wire fraud and conspiracy for his role in what one prosecutor calls, quote, a fraud of epic proportions. Prosecutors alleged he used customer funds to make investments in other companies, donate to political campaigns, and cover loans made by a related hedge fund. His trial is set to begin on October 2nd.

Well, for nearly three years, people living in China were subjected to some of the strictest COVID requirements on the planet. But now that the government's ended it zero-COVID policy, triggering a surge in new cases, it says travel restrictions from other countries are excessive. Its Foreign Ministry calling them unacceptable as the E.U. considers joining countries already requiring tests from Chinese travelers. And for the latest, CNN's Steven Jiang joins us live from Beijing. And Steven, it has to be asked, what did China think would be the reaction when it suddenly dumps out of zero-COVID and basically allows its citizens to go wherever they need to be across the globe?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, it's pretty ironic that they are accusing other governments of overreacting, considering they have been imposing very extremely stringent zero- COVID policy measures, including targeting international arrivals. Which by the way, a lot of these rules are not completely ending until this coming Sunday on January 8th. But here's the thing, even some outside analysts and experts say, they may have a point about the newly imposed China specific measures may not be constructive or effective given the transmissibility of the virus, as well, as the lack of proof so far of a new variant or subvariant emerging from the latest China outbreak.

But the Chinese really have no one but themselves to blame because of their lack of transparency. Because even their own experts have acknowledged in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, some 70 or even 80 percent of the population have been infected. But when you look at the official data, not only the number of infections, but especially when it comes to deaths, these numbers -- these numbers are just ridiculously low, and they don't match the reality. And that's why the WHO has requested a behind a closed-door meeting with their Chinese counterparts who seek more data and more clarity on the true picture of what's going on in this country.

But from my vantage point, here on the ground, it continues to be a picture of dichotomy, that is, on one hand, you see medical facilities across the country from fever clinics to ICUs overwhelmed by people seeking medication and treatment, especially from the most vulnerable segment of the population, that is senior citizens with underlying conditions, not to mention, bodies piling up at crematories in major cities across the country. But on the other hand, you are seeing crowds and traffic congestion returning to big cities, and mostly mobbing younger folks who have recovered from their infections, flocking, not only back to their office buildings, but also to restaurants, shopping malls, and other tourist destinations.

And that is a side of the story the government and the state media here trying to highlight, while downplaying, or even ignoring the other more grim side of the story. But the biggest concern right now, of course, is the mass migration of millions of Chinese around the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. It's going to be the first time in almost three years you see this kind of mass travel across the country. That is likely to bring the virus from major cities to the country's countryside, where the healthcare system is a very fragile, or even nonexistent. And that, of course, could have devastating consequences, Rosemary.

ROSEMARY: Yes, of course. Steven Jiang, joining us live from Beijing, many thanks. And still to come, the calendar says it's the middle of winter for Europe. So, why are we seeing a record breaking heatwave? We'll take a look on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [02:41:17]

ROSEMARY: Unseasonably warm temperatures this week have taken some of the pressure off Europe's energy crisis. But its alarming climatologist, just four days into the New Year, and Europe has already broken a number of heat records for the month of January. On Monday, one town on the Czech Republic reached a balmy 19 degrees Celsius or 67 Fahrenheit. That's one of the -- one of at least eight European countries, which have set new records for their warmest January day ever. So, let's turn to our meteorologist Britley Ritz, she has been keeping a very close eye on this. Shall we get used to this?

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, not too used to. While we will stay above average, we are expecting a cold front to slide on through much of Europe over the next two days' time. But it does start to feel like early spring when we get these above average temperatures. I mean, we hit New January national records all across the Europe. Example, Abed, Denmark, where we hit 12.6 degrees. Now, temperature is all relative, of course, keep that in mind. But Germany, record temperatures over the entire country. The last three days, 980 plus, yes, locations, by the way. Record warmth for the Ukraine. Kyiv, top down at 13.2 degrees. Now, right now, temperatures are roughly about seven degrees in Milan. And Frankfurt, six Degrees. London at 13. Now, tomorrow's forecast highs are going to be climbing up to 12 degrees in Milan, Frankfurt 11 degrees, and London, expect a high of 13.

There's the cold front I'm talking about. The reason why we're so warm, we've got this massive area of high pressure sitting over Central Europe, pushing in more of that southerly wind, keeping temperatures well above where they should be, almost double. And so, with that being said, the precip which typically comes in the form of snow this time of year, not so much. We're dealing with quite a bit of rain. But then, we mentioned that cold front, temperatures will drop a bit. Look at this, Milan 12 degrees on Thursday. Six degrees is our typical high this time of year. Will drop with the cold front but again, still staying above average. Friday and Saturday, Milan expect highs at nine degrees. Rosemary?

ROSEMARY: Unbelievable temperatures.

RITZ: I know.

ROSEMARY: Britley Ritz, many thanks for that. Appreciate it. And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "WORLD SPORT" is up next. Then, I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more CNN NEWSROOM. Do stick around.

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